updated 09:55 pm EDT, Mon August 24, 2009

Jobs Devoted to Tablet

Apple chief Steve Jobs has spent "almost all" his time since his return to work developing the heavily rumored tablet device, according to sources close to the company. Those "people familiar with the matter" tell the WSJ that the executive is committing a level of attention to the project not seen since the original iPhone's development. The sheer control has reportedly been a shock to some workers, who during Jobs' roughly six-month medical leave had some relative freedom on projects.

The tipsters behind the story also back stories of the tablet having a rough creation cycle as it was supposedly first canceled due to battery life and then later due to a lack of memory. In one more reliable rumor, it was understood that Apple had originally tried building the tablet on Intel's x86 architecture but eventually switched to ARM's architecture (also used in the iPhone and iPod touch) to solve battery problems.

Eyewitnesses also claim that Jobs is still thin in the months since his liver transplant but has been much healthier than in late 2008, when his gaunt look prompted speculation of a serious issue that most now believe was the spread of the previously treated pancreatic cancer to Jobs' liver.

Details of the tablet are vague. In an uncharacteristic direct reaction, Jobs said in a response e-mail that "much of your information [at the newspaper] is incorrect" but didn't elaborate on what he meant.

The news potentially renders the tablet a significantly more significant device than previously thought, as many believe the tablet is primarily an upscaled iPod touch with a larger, higher-resolution display. Simultaneously, however, it's also considered Apple's answer to its lack of a netbook and may include both Verizon-ready 3G as well as NVIDIA's Tegra core to give it both an ARM processor as well as relatively fast graphics that could, among other possibilities, decode 720p video almost entirely in hardware. Media playback should be the focus, but the larger size would improve web browsing and productivity apps.

Most unofficial predictions now put the tablet's release in early 2010 barring complications.

"much of your information is incorrect". In other words... "get a life and do some real reporting if you dare try to guess at the divinity I am creating!"

And who are these employees that are taken aback by Jobs' control? Duh - you work for Apple; everyone on the planet knows Jobs is a control freak. Not to mention he was away for medical leave so he was probably itching even more to jump into a project.

Really, nobody outside Apple knows what this 'tablet/netbook' will look like or how it will function. And given Apple's/Jobs' obsession with secrecy, it is very likely that a) even those working on the project may not know everything about it, and b) there is some disinformation being spread by Apple, partly to throw competitors off-track and partly to find leakers.

Let's face it, nobody will know what this is until Apple decides to let us know. Until then all this speculation is nothing more than tech journalist/blogger masturbation.

I've heard nothing of a rumored buyback. And now is not the time to be buying back stock. The only reason to buy back stock is to attempt to boost the stock price by reducing the number of shares. Since Apple's stock isn't exactly mired in the mud like so many companies, a buyback really isn't necessary.